[URBANTH-L]CFP: Pensioners on the move: social security and trans-national border retirement migration in Asia and Europe

[Angela Jancius]

Workshop Announcement 

PENSIONERS ON THE MOVE:  SOCIAL SECURITY AND TRANS-BORDER RETIREMENT MIGRATION IN ASIA AND EUROPE

5-7 January 2006, 
Furama River Front Hotel, Singapore 

Co-organised by
Radbound Universiteit Nijmegen and Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

Supported by
Asia-Europe Foundation,Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, and Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

AIM

The aim of this workshop is to bring together scholars from different disciplines (principally, law and social sciences) to investigate the issues of social security and trans-border migration of retired people. We are particularly interested in comparing the specific policies and legal frameworks which enable (or obstruct) the geographical movement of the elderly, and explore strategies, behaviour and the implications which condition migrants' options and choices. 

OBJECTIVES  

The intended workshop will seek to examine the interplay of borders on the retirement options and choices. The presence of researchers conducting research in different sites from Asia and European regions will make it possible to draw various comparisons. We hope that it will also lead to original and innovative ideas for future collaborative research.

Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the workshop will examine the strategies and behaviours of both the states and migrants, and more specifically the workshop will discuss the following two themes: 

(1) The relationships between states and the notion of 'social citizenship' 

*         To overview and compare states' policies and legal frameworks which enable (or obstruct) the geographical movement of the elderly in Asia and Europe. 
*         To investigate how and to what extent migrants' behaviours, options and decisions are conditioned by state regulations on migration and the remittance of pensions 
*         To examine the practice and discourses where the host and sending societies negotiate the ways in treating the cross-border movement of the elderly 
*         How retiree's mobility is related to the overall migration regimes in Asia and Europe 
*         To explore the ways in which national identity is challenged and/or reinforced in this process 

(2) Elderly migrants' sense of 'home'/'family' with regard to social security and residential strategies: 

*         To identify the problems that they are confronted with in organising their social and financial security.
*         To examine the ways in which family and community members in the country of origin provide care for the elderly trans-nationally. 

*         What are the socio-cultural implications of this new movement on the general perception of aging and life cycle? 
*         To explore how gender affects the decision making process of the elderly on migration. 
*         To analyse the interplay between transnational retirement migration and other demographic and social transitions. 
*         To investigate the emerging 'transnational household' as a result of the movement. 


CONTACT DETAILS

For general enquiries, please contact:

Ms Valerie Yeo (ariyeov at nus.edu.sg)

Asia Research Institute 
National University of Singapore 
Tel: +65-6874-5279 
Fax: +65-6779-1428

Organisers:

Prof Elspeth Guild (e.guild at jur.kun.nl)
Dr Anita Böcker (a.bocker at jur.kun.nl)
Dr Mika Toyota (arimt at nus.edu.sg)


Dr. Mika Toyota
Research Fellow, Asia Research Institute
The Shaw Foundation Building, Level 4
5 Arts link, Singapore 117570
TEL:+65-6874-1381 FAX:+65-6779-1428
Website: www.ari.nus.edu.sg